Mario Party Strikes Back
Mario Party Strikes Back is a video game based on a board game for the Wii U, and the first game of the expansive Ultimate Mario Party series, as well as the first game from the Original Trilogy. Players choose one of thirteen characters and move around the board. As they go around, they collect coins and various other items that can help them or hinder others in their quest to collect Stars. What sets this game apart from others is the mini-games that follow each round. The players will be grouped together in groups of two, three against one, or everyone for themselves. They then compete in a game that tests their reflexes, puzzle solving skills, or plain luck. The winners will be awarded coins and the losers may lose coins. Game Modes Mario Party Strikes Back game has its own menu, unlike the original Mario Party. Party Mode Party Mode is the heart of Mario Party Strikes Back. Four players will play on a board game, each getting a turn to roll the dice, which will determine how many spaces they will move across, just like a traditional board game. You can also play in teams of two, unlike the original Mario Party. After everyone rolls, a roulette will appear which will randomly select a minigame to play. This process will repeat itself until the set amount of turns is up. Mini-Game Mode The Xbox 360 orb is the host of this game mode. By speaking to him, the player is given a list of mini-games that have been played in the game so far. There are various price ranges of mini-games. Once one is bought, it can always be played for free via the orb on the table. Mini-Game Colosseum The Mini-Game Colosseum has its own board shaped in the form of a Star, and only has 24 total spaces. Each turn, players roll the dice and advance the number of spaces, like in Party Mode. However, blue spaces do not add coins and red spaces do not subtract coins. All coins are gained or lost from mini-games which are played at the end of each turn. There is one One-Player mini-game space as well. Passing Koopa will result in 10 coins for the player. At the end of the game, the player with the most coins wins. Mario Party Marketplace The Mario Party Marketplace is run by Mr. Game & Watch. In the shop, various items can be bought with Coins earned from mini-games and Party games. You can buy many things, including Bowser's Magma Mountain, which is required to unlock every playable character. Playable Characters and their Colors Characters not from the original Mario Party have a bolded name, and every unlockable character has an italicized name. #Mario - Red #Luigi - Dark-green #Peach - Pink #Yoshi - Light-green #Wario - Purple #DK - Brown #''Bowser'' - Orange #'Heihachi' - Grey #''Jinpachi'' - Khaki #'Alisa' - Lavender #'Jack-6' - Green #''Azazel'' - Dark-purple #'Mokujin' - Beige How to unlock the characters Unlocking the playable characters isn't too hard. Just do the following: *Jinpachi can be unlocked by playing on Wario's Battle Canyon one time. *Azazel can be unlocked by playing on Luigi's Engine Room one time. *To unlock Bowser, you must play on all of the game boards one time, purchase Magma Mountain from the Mario Party Marketplace, then play on it one time. Game Boards Mario Party Strikes Back has eight game boards, just like the original Mario Party. DK's Jungle Adventure Map Difficulty: One Star DK's Jungle Adventure is Donkey Kong's board, as well as Jack-6's game board. Players aim to collect Stars in order to locate the mysterious treasure that is locked away in the jungle's ancient ruins. Four Whomps are guarding the junctions; to pass, a player must pay ten Coins. Landing on a Happening Space triggers a rolling boulder which in turn chases down any players standing in its way all the way to the path near the start of the board. If a player happens to meet Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, on this board, they are "awarded" a useless Golden Bowser Statuette and are forced to pay him ten coins. At the end of the game, the winning player's stars join together to form a large star that flies over to the stone chest located at the upper-left hand corner of the board. The star acts as a key, opening the chest, and revealing the ancient treasure: a Golden Banana Bunch. The winning player is rewarded with the bananas, while the players in 2nd and 3rd place, in addition to Toad, Koopa, Boo, a Whomp, and the large star all accompany him or her in the winner's circle. The player that came in 4th place is chased down the board by the rolling boulder. Peach's Birthday Cake Map Difficulty: Two Stars Peach's Birthday Cake is Peach's board, as well as Mokujin's game board. It is the smallest map of the ones available in Mario Party. Its main feature is the Flower Lottery, where a player plants a Red, Blue, Yellow, or Green seed (at the cost of ten coins) and grows a flower. Three flowers have a Toad face, while one flower has a Giga Bowser face on it. After all four seeds are planted, four new ones can be chosen. This is run by a Goomba, who says if a player gets the Bowser face, he will "win" the lottery and go to Bowser, who will sell him the Bowser Cake, one of Bowser's Phony Items. If one gets a Toad face one will "lose" the lottery and go in the direction of the Star. If a player lands on a Happening Space, they have the opportunity to plant a "Strawberry Seed" at the cost of 15 coins, which grows into a Piranha Plant. Once planted, if another player with stars lands on the Happening Space with the Piranha Plant there, it will steal a star from that player, and give it to the player that planted it. At the end of the game, the winner's stars form into a large star that flashes and the board turns into a beautiful birthday cake. The winner, along with the players in second and third place, Toad, Koopa, Boo, Goomba, a pair of Piranha Plants, and the Star accompanying them celebrates the victory, while the player in fourth place gets bitten by another Piranha Plant. Yoshi's Tropical Island Map Difficulty: Two Stars Yoshi's Tropical Island is Yoshi's board. Consisting of Watermelon Island, Melon Island, and a small island in the middle, it was said that many Yoshis live here, but only two are shown in the middle of the board. A Pink Yoshi is on the small island and is surrounded by whirlpools, with a Blue Yoshi who can't do anything about it. Players aim to collect stars to get rid of the whirlpools and reunite the two Yoshis. The Happening Spaces make Bubba the fish take Toad to the opposite island, Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked taking his place. Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, sells defective Bowser Tubes to players for 30 coins. Two Thwomps block both ways to the opposite island, and request fees from players if they wanted to pass. The fee always starts at one coin, but goes up by one coin each time until it reaches the limit of 50 coins to pass. At the end of the game, the winner's stars get rid of the whirlpools (unlike other boards, the individual stars do not merge into one big star on this board), and form a bridge for the Blue Yoshi to cross to meet his friend on the small island. The winner quickly comes to island as well, and players in second and third place, Toad, Koopa, Boo, a Thwomp, and the Star follow. The player in fourth place tries to join them, but gets taken away by Bubba. Wario's Battle Canyon Map Difficulty: Two Stars Wario's Battle Canyon is Wario's board, as well as Heihachi's board. It is set on a canyon that has been split into four areas with Bowser's area, or Giga Bowser's area if Bowser is already unlocked, in the middle. Players aim to collect stars to stop the feud between the Bob-omb Buddies and the Bob-ombs. To get around the board, players are placed into cannons and fired to another area; the area they are sent to is determined by a spinning wheel. If a player lands on a Happening Space, the Bob-ombs will switch directions of the cannons. Bowser's area can only be reached by asking the Fly Guy in the northeast area to carry the character conversing with him to Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, for ten coins. Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, also has a cannon in this area to replace his bogus item. However, instead of firing at a specific part of the board, Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, will just fire a character at a random spot. At the end of the game, the winner's stars form into a large star that goes over to a cannon and fires by itself, producing fireworks. The winner is then escorted by the black and red Bob-ombs, showing their flag of peace. The players in 2nd and 3rd place, Toad, Koopa, Boo, Fly Guy, Jinpachi Mishima, and the Star accompany him or her. The player in 4th place gets shot out of Bowser's cannon (ironically, this is the only time Bowser's cannon is fired). Jinpachi then becomes a playable character at the end of the game. Luigi's Engine Room Map Difficulty: Three Stars Players need to collect stars to power up the engine in the middle of the room (but actually in the back of the playing board). The main feature is the board-wide system of red and blue doors. One set would rise up to block specific paths while the other set goes down to open other paths. The doors switch at the start of every turn, when players land on certain Happening Spaces, or if a robot on the board was paid 10 coins to switch them. ? spaces on steam generators near the engine make steam rise up out of the respective generator, propelling players to a higher section. Players that went to Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, would see his "Make As Many Coins As You Want Mecha" in action. They would get a coin from Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, at the cost of 20 coins. No matter where the players go, all paths end in Warp Pipes that lead to Boo, who is near the start. At the end of the game, the winner's Stars form into a large star that goes over to the engine and powers it up. It is revealed that the engine and surrounding board are located inside a wooden airship (as seen in Rainbow Ride in Super Mario 64 as well as Rainbow Cruise in Super Smash Bros. Melee), with the winner standing at the front of the ship. The players in second and third place, Toad, Koopa Troopa, Boo, Azazel, and the Star accompany him or her, while the player in fourth place stays in the engine room and is burnt by the steam generators while Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, laughs at his or her torture. After the ending for this board, Azazel becomes a playable character. Mario's Rainbow Connection Map Difficulty: One Star Mario's Rainbow Connection is Mario's board, as well as Alisa's board. It is placed on clouds with multiple towers, and is sky-themed. The main feature of this board is that the location of the Star does not change each time a player receives one. Instead, it is always located on the main tower of the map. Each time a player does receive a Star, however, the tower rotates, revealing Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked. When the player reaches the tower while Bowser, or Giga Bowser if Bowser is already unlocked, is there, he charges 40 coins for a Ztar. This does not add to the star count. The tower can also be rotated by any player landing on a Happening Space. At the end of the game, the winner's stars form a large star that makes a magnificent series of rainbows across the board, followed by a rainbow path from Fwoosh's center platform. An instrumental score of the Muppet song, The Rainbow Connection, plays as the winner, as well as the players in 2nd and 3rd place go up the rainbow path to celebrate the victory along with Toad, Koopa, Boo, Dr. Bosconovitch, and the Star. The player in 4th place attempts to travel up the rainbow too, but slips, falls, and is carried away by Lakitu. Bowser's Magma Mountain Map Difficulty: Three Stars Bowser's Magma Mountain is Bowser's unlockable board. It is purchasable from the Mario Party Marketplace for 980 coins. Players need to collect stars to "defeat" Bowser. The board is set on a huge volcano with a one-way path to the top of the board, but with many junctions. Every junction had a green volcano-head statue with a Star sign, and Bowser's face. Bowser's voice was heard, asking players if they wanted to take a shortcut up the mountain for 10 coins. If the player accepts, then they would pay the fee, and a roulette block will appear showing a star and Bowser's face. If the player got the Star, they would be allowed to take the shortcut. However, if they got Bowser's face, they would have to continue on their present route with no refund. A purple volcano-head statue was on the top of the mountain, and was the most important one. When a player got here, they would be forced to hit another roulette block (this one free of charge). Getting the Star picture took them to Boo, and Bowser's face took them to Bowser, where he stole either coins, or a Star (depending on yet another roulette block). If a player steps on a Happening Space, the volcano erupts, sending flaming rocks on the board and turning all the Blue Spaces into Red Spaces for two turns. At the end of the game, the winner's stars form into a large star that charges up, and destroys the volcano part of the mountain that Bowser is in, sending him flying upward and falling back down on his side. As Bowser wallowed in pain, the winner would jump on him, then in front of him, as the players in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th watched. Toad, Koopa, Boo, and the Star soon joined them. Bowser will then become a playable character, and this board will then become Giga Bowser's board. Eternal Star Map Difficulty: Three Stars Eternal Star is the final board in Mario Party Strikes Back. It is unlocked by collecting 100 stars and unlocking every character in the game. The board is a giant Star that was broken up by Giga Bowser, and he also wrote graffiti on it. Players need to collect stars to put the giant Star back together. Instead of Toad, players have to get the Stars from Giga Bowser's cohorts, the Koopa Kids. To get Stars from them, players would have to pay the 20 coin fee, but then they have to play a game with Dice Blocks, where the person with the highest number wins. If the player wins, Koopa Kid gives up the Star, and leaves, leaving a Chance Space behind. If Koopa Kid wins, he takes a Star from the player. When all 7 of the Koopa Kids are dispatched, 7 more will appear. The Happening Space makes Giga Bowser use his magic to send all the players back to the start. The board is made up of a system of warp machines that connect at the Warp Patterns made by Bowser. If a player is unlucky enough to get to Giga Bowser, he steals a star from him or her (or all the coins if he or she doesn't have a star), sends them back to start, then change the routes of the Warp Machines. At the end of the game, the winner's stars form into a large star that blasts Giga Bowser and Koopa Kid into outer space, and the Giant Star is then put back together. It zooms into an endless warp, taking the winner, the players in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, Toad, Koopa, Boo, and the Star along for the ride. Sound Player Like the original Mario Party series, Mario Party Strikes Back has its own sound player. Music Character Voices Voice Cast *Gerald C. Rivers as the Announcer *Charles Martinet as Mario/Luigi/Wario/Donkey Kong *Jen Taylor as Peach/Toad *Kazumi Totaka as Yoshi *Scott Burns as Bowser *Dean Harrington as The Xbox 360 Orb *Jamieson Price as Heihachi *Kirk Thornton as Jinpachi *Cristina Valenzuela as Alisa *Jordan Byrne as Jack-6 *Richard Epcar as Azazel Trivia *Unlike the original Mario Party, Mario Party Strikes Back features the announcer calling out the characters' names when they are selected. This feature would be carried over to every subsequent release in the Ultimate Mario Party series. Category:Games Category:Games from the Original Trilogy